Barn at Great Maxfield

The barn at Great Maxfield is a late 16th-century aisled timber barn that was reroofed and heightened in the early 19th century. It is clad externally in weatherboarding with an early 19th-century brick plinth. Originally thatched, the roof is now covered in corrugated iron sheeting. The barn consists of five bays and features heavily jowled upright posts with a deeply cut profile resting on brick or sandstone padstones. The upright posts at one end bay have been shortened. The tie beams include slightly curved tension braces, and each aisle bay also has two slightly curved tension braces. The original roof was of queen post construction, as indicated by peg holes. In the early 19th century, the wall plate was heightened, and the roof pitch was made shallower. The current roof has 19th-century rafters with a ridge piece. The wall plate has a substantial frame with some slightly curved tension braces up to the junction with the 19th-century heightening. One bay on one side has 20th-century framing, and the southeastern end was entirely missing its wall frame at the time of the survey. Long diagonal struts on each side of the center bay create open storage bays.